If you are prescribed medical cannabis, keep records that help you prove what was prescribed, explain what was supplied, prepare for reviews, and answer practical clinic or pharmacy questions. The aim is not to build a huge file. It is to keep the documents you may need later.
For already-prescribed UK patients, the MCPH patient guide and how the UK medical cannabis prescription process works guide provide the wider pathway. Legal clearance and treatment decisions need the appropriate professional.
Keeping useful treatment records
Keep:
- prescription copies or clinic prescription summaries;
- dispensing labels, pharmacy receipts and batch or expiry details where shown;
- clinic letters, treatment-plan summaries and follow-up notes;
- pharmacy messages about stock, payment, dispensing or delivery;
- records of symptoms, side effects and daily function;
- a current medicines and supplements list;
- questions and decisions from reviews;
- travel, driving or workplace correspondence where relevant;
- copies of messages sent to or from the clinic, pharmacy, GP surgery or other healthcare team.
Keep records securely. Medical documents contain private information.
Prescription and dispensing records
Your prescription and dispensing records are the core documents. They show what was prescribed and what was supplied.
Keep:
- a copy of each prescription or prescription summary, where provided;
- the clinic or prescriber details;
- the medicine name as written on the label;
- strength, form and directions as written on the label;
- pharmacy name;
- dispensing date;
- quantity supplied;
- batch number and expiry date where shown;
- delivery and payment confirmation;
- any pharmacy message about supply or stock changes.
Do not rewrite label instructions in your own words if accuracy matters. Keep a photo or copy of the actual label where possible.
Clinic letters and review notes
Keep clinic documents that explain the plan, review decisions and follow-up arrangements. These may include initial assessment summaries, treatment-plan letters, review notes, side-effect instructions, clinic messages and written decisions after a prescription change.
After each review, record:
- the appointment date;
- what was discussed;
- what symptoms or side effects were reported;
- what the prescriber decided;
- what the next step is;
- who to contact if there is a problem before the next appointment.
If a decision is unclear, ask the clinic to confirm it in writing. That is safer than relying on memory.
Symptom, side-effect and daily function notes
Personal notes are not the same as clinical records, but they can help the prescriber review response and safety.
Record:
- main symptoms and how they affect daily life;
- side effects and when they happen;
- sleep, appetite, mood, concentration and energy changes where relevant;
- falls, dizziness, confusion, anxiety or impairment concerns;
- missed doses, delayed deliveries or label questions;
- other medicine changes, alcohol, supplements or illness that may affect the picture.
For a fuller tracking structure, see what to track after starting prescribed medical cannabis once that article is published. For side-effect context, see medical cannabis side effects.
Summary Care Record and NHS records
Your Summary Care Record from the GP surgery is often relevant during access and review because it can show current medicines, allergies and key health information. If a private clinic asks for updated records, the GP surgery is usually the admin source for those NHS records.
Private prescriptions are not always visible in NHS records. If your clinic sends a letter to your GP surgery, keep a copy. If you give your GP surgery prescription information, keep a copy of what you sent and any reply.
Do not assume every NHS service, employer, police officer, border official or insurer will see the same record. Keep your own documents accessible, but avoid sharing more personal medical information than is needed for the situation.
Pharmacy, stock and delivery records
Pharmacy records matter when there is a delay, stock change, missing parcel, label query or payment problem.
Keep:
- payment link emails or receipts;
- dispensing confirmation;
- dispatch and tracking messages;
- failed delivery messages;
- stock-change notices;
- damaged or missing parcel correspondence;
- names or reference numbers from pharmacy conversations.
If the pharmacy cannot supply what is written on the prescription, keep the message and contact the clinic. Do not treat a different product as equivalent without prescriber instruction.
For more detail, see repeat prescriptions, stock changes and pharmacy delays once that article is published.
Records for driving, travel and public carrying
NHS medical cannabis guidance says patients may need to prove that prescribed medical cannabis is theirs, for example by showing a prescription or letter and keeping the medicine in its packaging. GOV.UK driving law also has a prescribed-medicine framework, but it is not a clearance to drive while impaired.
For practical records, keep:
- prescription proof;
- original packaging with the dispensing label;
- clinic letter or treatment summary where provided;
- pharmacy receipt or dispensing record;
- travel letters or licences where official guidance says they are needed;
- any written advice from the clinic about impairment, driving or carrying medicine.
For travel, check official GOV.UK guidance and the destination country’s rules before carrying prescribed medical cannabis across a border. For driving, follow official guidance and your prescriber’s advice, and do not drive if impaired.
How to store records
Use whatever system you will actually maintain:
- a small folder for paper documents;
- a secure digital folder;
- photos of labels and prescription documents;
- a simple dated note for clinic calls;
- a spreadsheet only if it makes life easier, not harder.
Back up important digital records. Keep files named clearly, for example by date and pharmacy or clinic. Avoid putting private medical documents into apps or cloud services you do not trust.
Protecting private medical records
Keep prescription images off forums and social media. Share only the documents or details needed for the situation, store only your own records and leave labels and official documents unchanged.
If a workplace, travel provider, venue, police officer, insurer or another organisation asks for information, share the minimum necessary and ask the clinic or an appropriate adviser if the request is unclear.
Questions to ask your clinic
- What documents should I keep after each prescription?
- Can I have a written treatment summary?
- What should I keep with the medicine when carrying it?
- How should I record side effects or delays between reviews?
- Can the clinic send a summary to my GP surgery if appropriate?
- What records are useful if I travel?
- Who should I contact if a pharmacy label, clinic instruction or delivery message is unclear?
Good records reduce confusion. They do not replace clinical judgement, legal advice or official guidance.
Sources
- NHS: Medical cannabis
- NICE: Cannabis-based medicinal products, NG144
- NHS England: Cannabis-based products for medicinal use
- GMC: Information for doctors on cannabis-based products for medicinal use
- CQC: Cannabis-based medicinal products: what we look at when we register
- MHRA: Supply unlicensed medicinal products, specials
- GOV.UK: Drug driving law
- GOV.UK: Take medicine in or out of the UK
- GOV.UK: Controlled drugs personal licences
